The ads epidemic

We are constantly barraged by newer and better products and the theory that it is our duty to consume. However, the amount of control people have over what is necessary and what is desired is questionable due to the manipulation of the mind by advertisements.

The primary goal of advertising is to gain customers, this is done by making people want something so intensely that it becomes a necessity. Whether they capitalize on innate insecurities, hidden desires or repressed sexual fantasies, ads make us believe that by buying their products we are the beautiful people in their commercials. Furthermore, that being those people will make us happy.

Car commercials make us feel like we are safer if we drive Volkswagens, detergent ads make us feel like better parents if we use Tide, and alcohol ads make us feel sexier if we drink Smirnoff.

When broken down into a list it is obviously ridiculous, but that is what we are being told and subconsciously, what we believe, as is evident by some of our purchases above their competition.

Objects are sold along with the fantasy we have been given by the ads, it might be that we are almost more interested in the fantasy than the product. “MGD isn’t good enough, we have to have Budweiser because it’s the king of beers,” might be the thought of some. Though we might not think in those exact words, that is the sentiment which arises, in where we begin to judge products on a scale not of our own, but on what we have been told is the truth.

Commercials affect us even though we do not realize it, and when that happens we begin to believe that we need something we might not even like or want. One day I bought a Starbucks product, got into my car and began drinking. This might not seem strange, except for the fact that I never drink coffee because it upsets my stomach, and I am lactose intolerant.

After seeing so many advertisements selling this product to me, without realizing it, I had been suckered into thinking that this beverage, more specifically from Starbucks, would give me a sense of comfort. It is baffling every time I think about it, a commercial told me to buy something that I know will make me physically ill, and I did it without question.

Scarily enough, that is the efficacy modern advertising, it successfully manipulates the mind until it thinks and feels exactly what a company wants it to. Racy commercials may gain attention, but great commercials make customers out of even those who can usually see beyond the ads.

How then are we to proceed, nobody has time to analyze all the objects they buy, or question every inkling of necessity and desire. However, every now and again people have the urge to indulge themselves in random purchases. When in said mind frame, think of why you have chosen the product at hand, whether or not your decision was swayed by an advertisement you may have seen and if your expectations are based on the tone of the ad.

The objects of our interest are unquestionably influenced by all that is around us, a fact that should be investigated. We should be concerned that we are told what we want, need and believe and sometimes buy into it without even realizing.

Perhaps the biggest irony is that companies are selling products in order to buy us as loyal customers. In the grand scheme of things, we are the products for sale and our spending potential is the service we provide. Sadly, big companies buy us by the millions, all thanks to as little as one ad.